Henry Cejudo isn’t in favor of fast-tracking Bo Nickal.
UFC 285 was undeniably a massive event and kicking off the card was three-time wrestling national champion Nickal. The first-round rear-naked choke submission choke from the 27-year-old sensation continued his winning ways.
Despite his impressive win, Cejudo believes there’s a lot of work to still be done for Nickal.
“There’s a huge hype train going around with Bo Nickal,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “He did win, but I also saw a little difference in him too because he did struggle to get that takedown. MMA wrestling, it is different than NCAA Wrestling. They have to continue to keep building Bo Nickal. If they don’t build Bo Nickal, when they give him somebody tough, Bo Nickal is going to struggle because I saw what I had to see within those first two minutes.
“I was curious to see if he didn’t get the arm triangle, how was it that he was going to come back in that second round because there’s a lot of squeezing, there’s a lot of blood, that you’re constricting through you trying to submit somebody,” he added. “But other than that, again, I had it first-round submission, it happened. But moving forward, Bo Nickal, I hope you’re listening: You’re gonna need about six fights like this before you start getting up to, like, the top 10.
“I know you have goals to becoming pound-for-pound. Do I believe you can do it? 100 percent. Anybody that is a wrestler that’s a freestyler as high level as yourself can do it. Take your damn time, bro.”
TOP STORIES
Scenes. Ian Machado Garry explains post-UFC 285 fan altercation: “I was just going to drop them and go if he came close to me.”
Rankings. Valentina Shevchenko loses No. 1 spot, Jon Jones makes triumphant return.
Stories. New Lee Murray documentary details how he went from UFC fighter to pulling off the biggest heist in UK history.
Odds. Jon Jones opens as heavy favorite over Stipe Miocic in potential heavyweight title fight.
Beef. Merab Dvalishvili details altercation with Petr Yan: “If he didn’t have a fight … I would slap him.”
VIDEO STEW
Anything But Fighting with Joseph Benavidez and Zac Pacleb.
Free fights.
The War Room: Yan vs. Dvalishvili.
Cooking with Volk.
The next Chimaev.
LISTEN UP
Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses if we ever see a Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight. Plus, more UFC 285 fallout.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Jab-a-dab-a-doo.
Jab siempre jab pic.twitter.com/4ELTfQrTpC
— Yazmin Jauregui (@Jaureguiyaz) March 7, 2023
Full power.
Ok, so its time to slowly start turning volume up. To the next Level of Hunting, to Be the Apex Predator in full Power.
⚡️⛰⚡️#Connected#phoenixressurection pic.twitter.com/4QjUCLCMZI— Jiri BJP Prochazka (@jiri_bjp) March 7, 2023
Sterling vs. Clark.
Zion Clark and Aljamain Sterling got some training in together pic.twitter.com/cxMOeqZpf4
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) March 7, 2023
Cheers.
☘️ @ForgedStout @ProperWhiskey ☘️ #AI pic.twitter.com/Gc8IsLeIjL
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 7, 2023
Remember the fans.
Shoutout to the fans pic.twitter.com/ajdYoB8TsY
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) March 8, 2023
Maybe not.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Kron Gracie (5-1) vs. Charles Jourdain (13-6-1); UFC 288, May 6
Nate Maness (14-3) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (14-8); UFC 288, May 6
Mayra Bueno Silva (10-2-1) vs. Miesha Tate (19-9); UFC Fight Night, June 3
FINAL THOUGHTS
Thanks for reading!
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.